August 11, 2015

Cell Tower 84 Meters from Daycare at the University of Calgary

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Please see our story below
(including links of media coverage). I am trying to reach out to as many people
as possible. Yes, I have a cell phone and I am not anti-technology, but I try
to limit the exposure my kids get (I turn off our router at night, etc.). If
they need to put it in “my backyard,” then at least they could put it further
than 84 meters away (the West campus is mostly empty land).

Thanks,

Carol

AB, Calgary, The University of Calgary West Campus

Summary

An old Cell Phone Tower, sitting in an empty field,
will be taken down to make room for commercial development of the U of C West Campus.
As a result, the University needed to find an alternative location for a new Cell
Phone Tower to honour a contractual obligation with Telus. On or around June 11,
2015, a new tower was constructed outside the Childhood Development Centre (CDC).
The CDC is in close proximity to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospice,
and Ronald McDonald House.

Although the
new tower sits near a vulnerable population, no one in the area was consulted or
notified prior to the tower being constructed. According to Bart Becker, vice-president
of facilities with the University of Calgary, there are already eight towers and
four cellphone antennae on campus and it is not standard practice for the university
to hold public consultations prior to installing towers.

As the tower
went up, parents and staff started asking questions and raising concerns. The University
facilities team and Telus agreed to hold an after-the-fact information session.
At the session, the CDC occupants were offered an apology and told that the U of
C facilities department would review current protocols to support the university`s
goal of timely and transparent engagement with U of C communities in the future.
But, it was too late for us and the tower would stay regardless of concerns.

The U of C
representatives assured us that “every effort was made to locate the cell phone
tower as far away from the CDC as possible while providing vital communication services
to the campus community and surrounding areas”. Within the City of Calgary Siting
Protocols, putting cell phone towers “closer than 100 meters away from the nearest
portion of a school building” is discouraged. The tower stands 84 meters away from
the closest portion of the CDC on a parcel of land where, conveniently, no consultation
was required. The University owns the land and they are not required or prepared
to follow this recommendation. (Bart Becker is also a member of the Board of Directors
of the West Campus Development Trust, responsible for the commercial development
of the West campus. Developers don`t want a cell tower on the property. Simply put,
the West campus commercial development is more profitable than a daycare / school
and so the profit motive drives tower placement decisions. The tower is now tucked,
out of sight, by the daycare).

While Health
Canada strives to protect all Canadians, regardless of age, the Safety Code 6 Preface
clearly states that “in a field where technology is advancing rapidly and where
unexpected and unique exposure scenarios may occur, this code cannot cover all possible
situations" (Safety Code 6 Preface, 2015). At the present time, there is a
lack of essential research on cumulative biological effects. There is little
to no data on exposure to radio frequency fields (as emitted by such a tower) on
developing babies and children. It will be years until anyone can say, with
any certainty, that this tower is safe and has no negative health effects for the
children who will have exposure for 40-50 hours per week. Innocent until proven guilty: At whose expense? Health concerns aside, there were certainly
better tower placement options on the West Campus. This spot was chosen because
prior consultation was not required based on the use of lands.

A university,
with a strategic goal to be one of the top five universities in Canada, should strive
to achieve excellence at every level. In this case, however, the University facilities
team does not even aspire to meet the City of Calgary’s minimum recommendations.

Additional Info:

The University's Strategy Statement

The University of Calgary will be a global intellectual
hub located in Canada’s most enterprising city. In this spirited, high-quality learning
environment, students will thrive in programs made rich by research and hands-on
experiences. By our 50th anniversary in 2016, we will be one of Canada’s
top five research universities, fully engaging the communities we both serve and
lead.

(They did NOT consult us prior to the tower going
up. We are part of the U of C Community).